Bench Research

“ Inflammation-induced Apoptotic Cell Death Mediated by FasL”

Principal Investigator: Michael Bell

Institution: Children’s Research Institute

Washington, DC

Despite the association between inflammation and white matter damage, the mechanisms responsible for the pathological processes in pregnant mothers and infants remain elusive. This project aims to test the hypothesis that one or another of the caspase cell death cascades are crucial to neuronal death in a model of inflammation-induced or inflammation-enhanced developmental brain injury. Most of the motor handicap in children born prematurely is now understood to be due to diffuse white matter damage resulting from programmed cell death. These investigators are evaluating the relationship between lipopolysaccharide present from infection and inflammation to programmed cell death.

‘Restoring failed corticospinal connections with pyramidal tract stimulation’

Principal Investigator: Iran Salimi, PhD

Institution: Columbia University

New York, NY

Investigators will determine whether electrical stimulation of a silenced corticospinal system can rescue pyramidal tract neurons at risk of failing. This is a basic science project that could have important implications for preservation of motor function in individuals with neurological injury.

‘Genetic determinants of cerebral palsy severity’

Principal Investigator: James Blackman

Institution: University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

The investigators will collect DNA samples from 400 children with cerebral palsy and correlate the Apo-E and IL-6 polymorphisms with type and severity of Cerebral Palsy.

‘Metabotrophic glutamate receptors in hypoxic ischemic oligodendrocyte injury’

Principal Investigator: Frances E. Jensen

Institution: Children’s Hospital of Boston

Boston, MA

Preliminary results suggest that modifying the metabotropic glutamate receptors may be neuroprotective and have less unwanted side effects than modifying the ionotropic glutamate receptors. In this study, Dr. Jensen will “characterize the expression of specific glutamate receptors in oligodendrocytes in human and rat brain tissue”; evaluate the effect of group 1 mGluR activation on hypoxic-ischemic pre oligodendrocyte (OL) injury in an animal model of periventricular leukomalacia, a major cause of cerebral palsy in the premature newborn infant, and “determine the molecular mechanisms by which vGluR modulate the pre-OL injury”.

“Repair in Periventricular Leukomalacia: Implications for Therapeutic Advances”

Principal Investigator: Saraid Billards

Institution: Children’s Hospital

Boston, MA

This basic biomedical study seeks to understand the underlying reasons for myelin deficits in periventricular leukomalacia, the major underlying pathologic substrate of cerebral palsy in premature infants. This information should aid in the understanding of the innate repair of cerebral white matter in the perinatal human brain, and thereby lead to the development of therapeutic interventions to enhance this repair.

“The gp ligand and inflammatory mediator cardiotrophin-1 as a potential therapy for neonatal stroke”

Principal Investigator: Tong-Chun Wen

Institution: Atlantic Health

Morristown, NJ

Perinatal brain injury significantly affects central nervous system development and may lead to neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy later in life. However, the pathogenesis remains unclear and current therapeutic strategies are proving to be ineffective in ameliorating the long-term consequences of perinatal brain injury. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of cardiotrophin-1 on the central nervous system after injury to the developing brain.